Deep Down You Always Knew
by Tessan90
Summary: The South Park boys and girls have grown up and started high school. While life continues as usual it is obvious that not everyone in town is happy. Are their wills strong enough to change the course of their lives?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: This is my first story on FanFiction and I'm pretty excited. My first two chapters are fairly short and meant to test the water a bit. If I continue with the story the following chapters will be longer. I appreciate any reviews and constructive criticism. I hope you enjoy it._

**Deep Down You Always Knew**

_Chapter 1 - Not this again_

"Shut up, you fucking fat-ass! You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"Don't you talk that way to me, you ass wipe! Hell, this is a free fucking country, I can say whatever the hell I want. And I'm saying that your brother had it coming!"

Stan could hear them fighting all the way down the hall. He hated when they went at each others throats like that. Every time they did he had to step in and separate them from each other, hoping that there weren't any teachers nearby.

He started running towards the noise.

"He's eleven years old, for fuck's sake! He was just walking to class! What the HELL were you thinking when you threw a fucking snowball in his face!" Stan could hear that Kyle was getting more and more agitated. The angrier he got the more he cursed. That was the way things worked. He turned a corner and almost ran into Jimmy who was watching Kyle and Cartman from a safe distance. Along with 20 other students. Jesus fucking Christ.

"Well, my dear Mr. Broflovski, let me explain it to you. I was thinking; one, he is a JEW, two, he is CANADIAN and three, he is your brother. All of these reasons made me reach the conclusion that he deserved it," Cartman smirked while counting the reasons on his fingers.

This was always the thing that pushed Kyle over the edge. Cartman's so-called 'logic' that always, according to him, completely justified his actions along with that smirk saying that he thinks he's better than everyone else. Everyone was a subject to his 'reasoning' and many people argued with Cartman on a weekly basis, but he always had it in for Kyle. Every single day.

Kyle snapped. He and Cartman were only a few feet apart when he went for him. His green eyes flashed with fury as if someone had just set them on fire and his mouth started spewing profanities so vile that even Cartman seemed surprised. He threw himself at Cartman but found that he was being held back. He turned his head and saw his best friend standing behind him with a tight grip on his jacket.

Kyle wanted to struggle but couldn't. First of all he knew Stan was stronger than him, but mostly it was the look in Stan's eyes that made him weak. Stan's clear, blue eyes, fixated on his own filled with compassion and anger at the same time. It was as if he wanted to say 'Dude, let this go. He's not worth the trouble you'll get yourself into. Don't be an idiot, you're smarter than this.' Kyle could feel the urge to punch Cartman in the face fading. Stan was right, it would be moronic to punch Cartman in school right in front of other students.

Stan stared at Kyle for a couple of seconds and then turned to Cartman. The fat idiot was grinning at them and started to chuckle.

"Well well, Kyle, aren't you glad that your super best BOYfriend came just in time to stop you. You're lucky there weren't any teachers here to see you assaulting poor little me. Actually, you're more lucky that I didn't break your fucking jaw 'cus that wouldn't look so good with that new dress you bought for date night," Cartman chuckled, clearly trying to get Kyle to charge at him again.

"Shut up, Cartman, and get to class. We all know that you're all talk. If Kyle actually went for you you would pee your pants and cry for your mum," Stan's voice was calm but firm. He wasn't scared of Cartman and wanted to make damn sure that son of a bitch knew it.

The surrounding students started to giggle and glance at each other. Stan's comment seemed idiotic to most of them since Cartman was at least twice the size Kyle was. Sure he was fat, but he possessed some raw strength that he had happily demonstrated when getting into fights with others. Kyle was very slim, almost skinny and didn't have any muscles worth mentioning. There was a rumour that he had a green belt in karate but he had never said anything about it, and so it was considered to be just hearsay. Needless to say that if the two of them ever actually got in a fight not many would put their money on Kyle.

At that moment the bell rang, signalling for everyone to get back to class. Cartman snorted and turned around, heading down the hall along with the other students. Without looking at them he shouted: "Bye, Kyle! Sorry our conversation was yet again cut short. I look forward to seeing you again, fag!"

Once Cartman had disappeared among the other students Stan let go of Kyle. Kyle brushed himself off, still shaking with anger. Stan looked at him. He was concerned. It wasn't often that Kyle let Cartman affect him this much.

"Are you okay?" he asked and placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder. Stan didn't like to see him this upset, nothing good ever came from it.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Kyle replied without looking at him, I.. I was just stupid enough to let him get to me this time. I'm.. I just got so fucking angry!" Stan still couldn't see Kyle's face but he sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

"What did he do?"

"I was outside with Kenny at recess, you know he doesn't like to smoke on his own. That dumb fuck. Why doesn't he just fucking quit?.. We were outside and saw a bunch of kids from junior high walking towards the bus stop and.. and.. and I saw Ike among them. But something was wrong, he wasn't wearing his glasses and his nose was all swollen, Kyle was so angry he was grinding his teeth, Ike said that some fat asshole nailed him in the face with a snowball at lunch. He had been crying, man, I could tell! The snowball broke his glasses and made his nose bleed and that fat piece of shit started LAUGHING!"

"Hey man, calm down or your head is going to explode," Stan grabbed Kyle by the shoulders and shook him.

"Okay..Well I could only think of one person shitty enough to do something like that. So I went to find that tub of lard and confronted him. He laughed in my fucking face, dude! He said Ike started crying like a little pussy. Told me he's a little piece of shit trying to cheat his way through school because 'that's what dirty Jews do'. I couldn't fucking take it!"

Stan looked at his friend. Kyle had always been a great older brother to Ike and was always looking out for him. When Ike got to start junior high one year early Kyle was bursting with pride and was more than happy to help him with his homework. Stan was almost a bit jealous of the way Kyle cared for Ike. Shelley had never been much of an older sister, they had mostly just stayed out of each others' way and now that she had gone off to college they barely spoke at all.

"Kyle, you know Cartman is only doing this to get to you. He must be jealous that Ike is doing so well in school and knows how much you care about him that he figured he could get two birds with one stone, Stan turned to face Kyle, You're so much smarter than he is, Kyle. Don't let him get to you."

Kyle looked at Stan and smiled. He looked relieved, Stan's words seemed to have helped. Stan had always thought Kyle had a beautiful smile. It was a warm and genuine smile that showed his perfect teeth. A smile suited Kyle a lot better than a frown. It made Stan smile too.

"Thanks for stopping me before, Stan. And thanks for cheering me up now. You're a true friend,"

"You're welcome, Kyle. You know I'll always.."

"Always what?"

"Never mind. Now let's get to class before miss Ronaldson starts busting us for being late,"


	2. Chapter 2

**Deep Down You Always Knew **

_Chapter 2 – Bad day_

"And don't forget to read chapters five to seven of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' until Tuesday, kids. Remember to think about what metaphors the author uses, because you will have to write a paper on it,"

Kyle made a mental note of what miss Ronaldson said while hurrying to his locker with the other students. Now they had English homework on top of the social studies paper Mr Garrison had assigned a few days earlier. He would have to get started right away if he wanted to get an A on both of them. He liked studying because it kept his mind off things that bothered him, like Cartman.

He could feel the anger bubble up inside of him as he though of what Cartman had done earlier and suddenly it became difficult to remember his locker combination.

"Hey there, Kyle!"

Kyle turned around and saw Butters standing behind him with a smile on his face. His round cheeks, blond hair and blue eyes always made him look like some Disney-character come to life and his personality only contributed to that even more. Even though he got a slightly deeper voice after hitting puberty, he still looked more like he was eight than sixteen.

Sometimes it was adorable and sometimes it was just really annoying. On this occasion it was the latter. Kyle muttered hello while continuing to struggle with his locker.

"Well I just wanted to make sure you're OK. What with you fighting Eric and all. He can be a real asshole at times,"

Kyle stopped fighting with his locker and turned around.

"Wait, you heard about my fight with Cartman?"

"I was there. A lot of people were. Why, we saw the whole thing," Butters seemed surprised.

Kyle went cold as he suddenly remembered. Half of his class had been standing in the hallway when he found Cartman, plus some of the older students. He simply didn't care at the time because he was so angry.

Shit.

Kyle sighed and leaned back onto his locker, closing his eyes so tight it almost hurt. He wanted to get the image of everyone staring off his retina. He really made an ass of himself this time.

Kyle opened his eyes and brushed his red curls out of his face.

"Fuck. I'm sorry, Butters. I didn't notice you. I was just.. caught up in the fight. I'm all right now. I was just angry that Cartman went after Ike like that,"

Butters smiled. It was the smile of a child. He always did that. Even though he's growing up and is way more mature than most students at South Park High, he was stuck in the body of a fourth-grader.

"Don't worry about it, Kyle. I would get awfully mad if someone did that to my brother. If I had one, that is,"

Butters smiled again and patted Kyle on the arm.

Kyle sighed again and forced a smile. He turned to his locker and opened it without problems. He didn't want anyone to see that he was blushing with embarrassment. The thought that he once again had let Cartman get to him, in public, and that Stan once again had to keep him from getting into trouble made his face heat up.

He put on his green ushanka, took his bag and closed the locker door. He just wanted to get home and check how Ike was doing.

Kyle and Butters met up with Kenny by the school gates, who was just finishing a cigarette. He waved when he saw them and flicked the cigarette butt into the snow.

"Hey guys! How are you feeling, Kyle?"

Of course he had to ask. It seemed like the whole class knew about it, even the ones who weren't there. Kyle had left Kenny outside when he stormed off, but Kenny had a talent for finding things out.

Kyle muttered something about being fine without looking at Kenny and headed out the gate, followed by the other two. Normally they would all walk home since South Park High was only a few miles from their houses, but today it was snowing like crazy and it was only getting worse.

"Hey Kyle, where's Stan?" Kenny asked.

"How the hell should I know..," Kyle muttered.

"I think he went over to Wendy's. I saw them together by the lockers, they looked awfully friendly," Butters said while putting on his woolly hat. The storm was getting more aggressive.

"Ha! Figures. They are 'friendly' almost every day now. Wendy must be humping the shit out of Stan. I'm surprised he can keep his grades up seeing as how all the blood in his brain gets redirected 'elsewhere'," Kenny and Butters both laughed so hard they started coughing.

Kyle didn't laugh. It was partly because his cheeks were constantly being whipped by the cold wind, but also because he didn't think it was that funny. Ever since Wendy moved back to South Park from Denver she seemed like such a bitch. She soon got back together with Stan and immediately made him her slave. Maybe that's a harsh way of putting it, but that's what it seemed like to Kyle.

Stan had to come over whenever she called and spend the most time with her whenever they were out in a group. What bothered Kyle the most was the way she acted when HE was there. She would cling to Stan but at the same time act like she and Kyle were best friends. Which they weren't.

Kyle sighed again as they reached the bus stop. Today had been a bad day for him and he just wanted to get home and get started on his homework.

He turned around and saw that Kenny had pulled his parka so tight that only his eyes were showing. He looks just like he did when they were nine and it made Kyle laugh.

"Mmff?"

"Nothing, dude. Never mind."

The school bus arrived and they got on along with the other waiting kids. Neither Stan, Wendy nor Cartman were on the bus. Good, Kyle thought. He didn't feel like seeing either of them right now. He noticed that some of his classmates were looking at him when he passed them and he started to blush again.

Fine, let them stare, he thought, I just want to get home.

He sat down together with Kenny and Butters in the back of the bus and closed his eyes.

The bus ride seemed to take forever, but they finally reached the bus stop by his house. He said goodbye to Kenny and Butters and started to head home.

This day was finally over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Deep Down You Always Knew **

_Chapter 3 - A good friend_

Stan looked out Wendy's bedroom window. It was still snowing outside. He pulled the curtains and turned his back to the window.

"_You know I'll always be here for you, Kyle"_

Why couldn't I just say it? It shouldn't be a difficult thing to say to Kyle, we've known each other since kindergarten for fuck's sake. I meant it.. didn't I?

The thoughts were racing through his head like wild horses and started to give him a headache. Stan put his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. He was really tired.

"Stan, honey, could you come here for a sec?"

Stan looked up and headed towards the bed where Wendy was sitting. He had never liked her pink bedsheets. They were way too girly to fit a sixteen-year old. But then again, so was the rest of the room. The wallpaper was flowery, there were pictures of unicorns hanging on the wall and the whole room smelled of strawberries. He wasn't very fond of it.

Right now Wendy was sitting on the bed painting her fingernails.

"Babe, I was thinking of your birthday party," she said without looking up.

Stan sat down on the bed. "What birthday party?"

"Exactly. Are you even going to have one this year? Your birthday is only a week away, you know,"

Stan took off his hat and scratched his black, messy hair.

"Well.. I haven't thought about it. I was just thinking of going to the movies with Kyle and Kenny, nothing special," She looked at him, "And hanging out with you, of course," he added.

Wendy's attention returned to her fingernails, "But I think you should do something big. Like a Halloween party. You could have it on the weekend between your birthday and Halloween. It would be perfect! You could invite people from school and everyone should dress up. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

He looked at her, "Well, that does kinda sound like fun, but I don't really get what it's all for. I'd have to plan and organize a whole bunch of things and I don't know if I feel like doing that this year.. Why are you so keen on me having a party?"

Wendy finished her nails and put the nail polish on the bedside table. She moved closer to him and flicked some lint off his black jumper.

"Because, sweetie, I think you should. You made alternate captain of the hockey team after only a few weeks on the team and that's pretty impressive. There are lots of people at school who'd like to come to your birthday party. Believe me, people have been asking me about it all day. And besides, I'd like a chance to meet up with everyone properly. I haven't done that since I moved back from Denver, you know," She leaned towards him and nuzzled his neck, "You'd do that for me, wouldn't you?"

Stan didn't know what to say. It wasn't hard to make the hockey team and he didn't see anything special about being elected alternate captain either. Wendy seemed to think it was a bigger deal than it actually was since she didn't know the sport that well.

Wendy had moved to Denver with her parents almost a year ago because her father got transferred. They came back two months ago and moved back into their old house, and Wendy started school right away. Stan thought she had had plenty of time to catch up with the others but apparently she didn't feel the same way.

"You know what, Wendy, I'll think about it,"

Stan kissed Wendy on the forehead and smiled. He knew that agreeing with her would make her happy, and he didn't feel like arguing tonight.

Wendy lifted her head and kissed Stan on the mouth. She seemed pleased with his answer.

"And of course I'll help you plan and arrange everything," she said while kissing him on the neck.

Stan liked the feel of her lips on his neck. That tickling sensation always made him excited and made him want to kiss her back. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"_You know I'll always be here for you,"_

Wendy whispered those words into Stan's ear, the exact words he had been thinking of mere minutes earlier..

Stan suddenly turned cold. Wendy's kisses started to feel like pinches on his skin. He pushed her away from him and closed his eyes.

"Is something wrong, Stan?" Wendy seemed surprised at his sudden change of heart.

"It's.. it's nothing, Wendy. I'm just tired. I actually think I should go home now,"

Stan stood up and put on his hat. He turned around and kissed Wendy on the forehead one more time and then went for the door.

"Stan! If something is wrong I want you to tell me,"

Stan turned around to face Wendy.

"There's nothing to tell, Wendy. I just have to get home before the storm gets worse,"

She looked at him for a few seconds and then said hesitantly: "Okay.. but if we're going to function as a couple you have to talk to me,"

Stan smiled "I promise," and then shut the door. He walked out of the house and shuddered when he felt the cold wind against his face. His and Wendy's house were only a few miles apart but the storm made walking extremely difficult. It would probably take him an hour to get home.

Stan pulled his hat down and his collar up and started to make his way home.

* * *

"Ha ha! Force choke! Take that, you pansy!"

"Hey, no fair! You know I'm no good with Astaroth!"

Butters cringed as Kenny delivered the final knock-out blow to his character.

"Heh, don't question the almighty random character select, that's just being a sore loser,"

Kenny threw the controller to the side and stretched his legs. They had been playing for an hour and he started to crave cigarettes. He looked outside and shuddered at the sight of the storm, but the Stotches didn't allow smoking indoors.

"Hey Butters, I'm just going out for a smoke, why don't we play something else when I get back?"

"Sure thing, Kenny. And I'll go get us some cookies and soda in the kitchen while you're out,"

Butters fired off his big Disney-smile and went to the kitchen, leaving Kenny staring at his ass as he left. Kenny put on his parka, pulled up the hood and went outside.

He thought of Butters while searching his pocket for his lighter. Butters was kind of hot in his way-too-cute way, but he didn't really do it for Kenny. He liked his partners to know what they were doing. Plus he would never be able to put the moves on any of his best friends. He chuckled at the thought of how awkward Butters would be in bed while lighting his cigarette.

Usually Kenny liked to savour his cigarette but now he just wanted to get back inside as soon as possible. His hands were shaking from the cold and the snow somehow found its way inside his parka even though he had pulled his hood tightly around his face.

Suddenly he saw a dark silhouette struggling against the wind on the pavement. At first he couldn't make out who it was, but then he recognized the yellow backpack and the red and blue hat the figure was wearing.

"Stan!" The figure lifted it's head, "What the hell are you doing out there, you idiot? Come inside before you get hypothermia,"

The figure that was Stan stopped for a second and then started to make its way to the house. The driveway that had been shovelled when Butters and Kenny arrived was now covered in at least four inches of fresh snow.

Kenny smiled when he could make out Stan's face and flicked the remainder of his cigarette into the snow. He didn't feel like smoking any more.

"And here I thought you were the type who likes to cuddle," he smirked at Stan.

"I'm sorry?" Stan's cheeks were blushed and he was breathing heavily from exhaustion when he reached Kenny.

"I always figured you'd be one of those guys who wanted to talk about his feelings after 'making love' to your lady. Clearly I was wrong," Kenny grinned as Stan blushed up even more.

"That's none of your business," he muttered while avoiding Kenny's eyes, "And how did you know I was at Wendy's house?"

"I have my ways, Stanley my friend. Specifically, Red told me when we were making out behind the cafeteria at lunch. Apparently Wendy had plans to take your relationship to the next level today but I can tell from the way you're avoiding my eyes that either something went very wrong or it didn't happen at all," Kenny looked at Stan who finally returned his gaze. He looked worried.

"We haven't done anything like that. And I don't feel like talking about it right now. Now can we please get inside, Kenny, I'm freezing my ass off here,"

Kenny was very good at reading people, and it was obvious that Stan was upset. But if he didn't want to talk about it there was not much he could do. Kenny had never been big on forcing others to talk about their problems.

Kenny turned around and opened the door. They stepped inside and took off their wet clothes. Stan must be chilled to the bone considering how far he had walked. At that moment Butters came back from the kitchen carrying cookies and orange soda.

"Hey Butter, I found a stray boy outside! I'm gonna love him and feed him and call him Stan. Can I keep him?" Kenny said while jumping up and down like a kid. He wanted to lighten Stan's mood and make up for prying into his personal life.

Butters smiled at them, "Hey there, Stan. Don't tell me you were outside in this nasty weather? Come on in and take a seat on the couch, we're playing video games,"

Stan smiled back, "Thanks Butters, that's really nice of you," and sat down on the sofa. Kenny took a seat next to him while Butters went to fetch a glass for Stan.

"Hey Stan, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable out there, I was just messing around,"

Stan sighed and looked at his hands.

"No, that's okay, Kenny. You couldn't have known. Actually, things got a bit weird between Wendy and me today and I don't know what to make of it.."

Kenny leaned in closer and put his hand on Stan's back.

"Weird how?"

"Well.. we were talking about my birthday and she thinks I should throw this big Halloween party since so many people from school apparently want to come.. And, well, she started kissing me and stuff.. but then I suddenly freaked out and left," Stan put his face in his hands, "I don't know why and I don't know what I'm going to do about it."

Kenny thought about what Stan had said for a few seconds.

"Well.. it seems to me like you're scared. Maybe you're not ready to move forward with Wendy and if that is the case you have to let her know. That's all I can say, bro."

Stan looked as if he was processing what Kenny had just said and then nodded.

"Thanks, Kenny, I think you might be right," he turned his head and smiled, "You're a good friend."

"Of course I am, dude. I'm good at everything," Kenny joked.

Butters re-entered the room, "Well if you fellas are done talking I think we should play some racing games now."

"That sounds like a good idea. Come on, Stan, you versus me."

"Okay then, but prepare to get your ass kicked," Stan grinned.


End file.
